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On any given day, staff and volunteers provided sports, games and other activities for 60 to 80 children, she said.
“No, we didn’t save every child, but we saved some of them. This building needs to be open,” she said to cheers from about 80 residents gathered at the now-shuttered center Tuesday for a forum on gun violence.
As summer approaches, residents gathered said the center, a greater police partnership and presence, more options for youth and a focus on drug prevention would go a long way stemming gang activity and other crime across the city.
U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), state Sen. Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport), Mayor Joe Ganim and Police Chief AJ Perez were all on hand to hear residents questions and suggestions.
“This is an epidemic,” said Murphy. “It’s wild to me that we’re celebrating the fact that only a handful of people have been shot in the city this year. It’s like raindrops, right? It’s become background noise.”
Trumbull Gardens has been the site of a number of violent incidents, including a June 2015 shooting that left one man dead and eight injured, including a grandmother who was taking a shower.
Resident Francis Pressley said he’d like children to learn more about their culture because youth have got “an identity problem.” Strong, positive parental involvement and more variety to youth programming would also help, he said.
“Not every kid is going to be a basketball player,” he said.
While Bridgeport is dealing with serious budget woes, Ganim said he hopes to have 100 new police officers on the streets and five community centers up and running this summer. Housing Authority Director Lee Byers said he hopes to have the Trumbull Gardens center open with at least one staff member and volunteers working on stipends within two weeks.
Asked by a child if the legislators could promise that, Blumenthal smiled.
“If it’s not open in two weeks,” he said, “we’ll be back.”
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